Healthcare for secondary dependents

[eahmed4]

My brother is autistic as well as an epileptic and hypothetically by the time I would commission, I would be responsible for taking care of him. I was wondering what source of health coverage he would qualify for as a secondary dependent and what that would cover.

 

[croakerfish]

Defense Finance and Accounting Service > MilitaryMembers > SecondaryDependency > SDC

I’m obviously not an expert on this but it sounds like he’d have to be legally dependent on you before you can get him in DEERS as a dependent. You should definitely talk to DFAS and get some definite information.

 

[Renegade One]

Will you be world-wide deployable and "routinely relocatable" (e.g., PCS orders) having primary custody of a special needs dependent? Need to think about that as well, in addition to the legal dependency for DEERS issue. Good luck. Many military families have to deal with that situation as well, but each situation is different.

 

[Swanee]

My brother is autistic as well as an epileptic and hypothetically by the time I would commission, I would be responsible for taking care of him. I was wondering what source of health coverage he would qualify for as a secondary dependent and what that would cover.

If you have care of him, get him registered in DEERS.

Then get registered in the Exceptional Family Member Program. EFMP is one of the few programs that the DoD as a whole has knocked out of the park. They protect your family members interests- as well as yours- with their care, and they advocate for you with the stuff that @Renegade One is talking about.

EFMP also gets your access to medical care that may otherwise be unavailable. EFMP are also the people to contact if you need help navigating the legalese of getting your brother added as a dependent of yours.

Bottom line is this- you want to serve, EFMP will help enabling that. You may not be able to follow the golden path, but you won't have to worry about going to a place that doesn't have the care your family needs.

Also- there are COs, DHs, and other lifers out there with EFMP dependents. And if anyone gives you any crap for having an EFMP dependent, your first call is to them- and they'll sort it out.

 

[eahmed4]

If you have care of him, get him registered in DEERS.

Then get registered in the Exceptional Family Member Program. EFMP is one of the few programs that the DoD as a whole has knocked out of the park. They protect your family members interests- as well as yours- with their care, and they advocate for you with the stuff that @Renegade One is talking about.

EFMP also gets your access to medical care that may otherwise be unavailable. EFMP are also the people to contact if you need help navigating the legalese of getting your brother added as a dependent of yours.

Bottom line is this- you want to serve, EFMP will help enabling that. You may not be able to follow the golden path, but you won't have to worry about going to a place that doesn't have the care your family needs.

Also- there are COs, DHs, and other lifers out there with EFMP dependents. And if anyone gives you any crap for having an EFMP dependent, your first call is to them- and they'll sort it out.

This was honestly a beautiful explanation. I did not know EFMP was a thing until you brought it up. After briefly looking it over, it is definitely something that will benefit us greatly. Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Flash]

My brother is autistic as well as an epileptic and hypothetically by the time I would commission, I would be responsible for taking care of him. I was wondering what source of health coverage he would qualify for as a secondary dependent and what that would cover.

The TRICARE briefings for my last MOB covered this both pre and post-MOB in detail but since it didn't apply to me I didn't pay too close attention, but one of the few things I remember with folks that it did apply to having guardianship of the person you want to cover is key. A quick search seems to confirm this, from this link:

Who Qualifies as a “Family Member”?

• adult dependents for whom the sponsor has physical legal guardianship. This may be an elderly relative such as a parent or an adult child with certain disabilities. (In the case of dependent adults who are not biological, adopted, or step-children, limitations to benefits exist.)

Having seen first-hand how arduous it can be to get guardianship of an adult I would advise you to start researching the subject and look into consulting with an attorney who does guardianships sooner rather than later to get an idea of the work ahead.

When get registered in the Exceptional Family Member Program. EFMP is one of the few programs that the DoD as a whole has knocked out of the park. They protect your family members interests- as well as yours- with their care, and they advocate for you with the stuff that @Renegade One is talking about.

Also- there are COs, DHs, and other lifers out there with EFMP dependents. And if anyone gives you any crap for having an EFMP dependent, your first call is to them- and they'll sort it out.

A note of caution I would add is that most folks I knew who had EFMP dependents had at least a few years in the military under their belts, I didn't know anyone in initial training or first fleet tour who had one without other family members to help support them. It could be a considerable challenge for a servicemember to be a sole guardian with a EFMP dependent while going through flight school or similar training followed by an initial fleet tour.

 

[Swanee]

The TRICARE briefings for my last MOB covered this both pre and post-MOB in detail but since it didn't apply to me I didn't pay too close attention, but one of the few things I remember with folks that it did apply to having guardianship of the person you want to cover is key. A quick search seems to confirm this, from this link:

Who Qualifies as a “Family Member”?

• adult dependents for whom the sponsor has physical legal guardianship. This may be an elderly relative such as a parent or an adult child with certain disabilities. (In the case of dependent adults who are not biological, adopted, or step-children, limitations to benefits exist.)

Having seen first-hand how arduous it can be to get guardianship of an adult I would advise you to start researching the subject and look into consulting with an attorney who does guardianships sooner rather than later to get an idea of the work ahead.



A note of caution I would add is that most folks I knew who had EFMP dependents had at least a few years in the military under their belts, I didn't know anyone in initial training or first fleet tour who had one without other family members to help support them. It could be a considerable challenge for a servicemember to be a sole guardian with a EFMP dependent while going through flight school or similar training followed by an initial fleet tour.

That's also a good point.

I knew a couple others who were earlier on, but none earlier than advanced.

 

[Gatordev]

Also important to understand that if you have guardianship of a dependent, you are still expected to be deployable and will be required to have a Family Care Plan in place.

 

[Swanee]

Also important to understand that if you have guardianship of a dependent, you are still expected to be deployable and will be required to have a Family Care Plan in place.

Yeah, I hope that I didn't give the impression that one will have a cushy desk job at the location of their choosing and never deploy.

EFMP just ensures that your non-deployed location will have the types of doctors available for you. If BFE Nebraska doesn't have the pediatric surgical nephrologist that your child requires, you won't be able to PCS to BFE Nebraska (you can go unaccompanied though). And EFMP won't ever get you out of deploying, it will only help you get connected to resources so you don't have to worry about healthcare for your family while you're deployed.

At the end of the day healthcare and programs like EFMP for a benefit to enable continued service, not a handout.